Sask. unemployment tops nat’l rate for 1st time since 1989

Saskatchewan’s job losses are outpacing growth of new positions, according to the latest employment numbers from Statistics Canada.

The July labour force survey shows the province shed 2,700 full-time jobs from June to July, while adding 2,300 part-time positions.

As a result, Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate rose from 6.5 per cent in June to 6.6 per cent in July.

The increase places the province above the national unemployment average for the first time since September 1989, when jobless rate was at 7.4 per cent, 0.1 per cent above the national average.

Canada’s national unemployment rate dropped in July from 6.5 per cent to 6.3 per cent.

The Saskatchewan NDP responded to the job numbers Friday morning in a statement slamming the Sask. Party.

“The Sask. Party’s mismanagement, scandal and waste have cost Saskatchewan families more than the billions of dollars that have been added to the debt,” said Trent Wotherspoon, the current NDP jobs critic. “They have cost people their jobs.”

Premier Brad Wall has previously pointed to low commodity prices and market pressures when explaining tough economic times in the province, which have seen the provincial deficit top $1 billion.